Cheshire East has approved a 20% increase for one of its top officers with another getting an extra £25,000 a year, despite lower paid council workers receiving just 1%.

The massive pay hikes - the chief operating officer’s salary will jump from £110k to £135k, the executive officer for economic growth and prosperity from £110k to £120k, the head of legal services and monitoring officer from £75k to £90k and the director of adult services from £95k to £110k - were voted through at Thursday’s council meeting.

Cllr Arthur Moran (Ind) questioned the justification for such increases saying, in the private sector people are paid by results which often means ‘no results, no jobs’.

“I find £135,000, £120,000, £110,000 and £90,000 backdated to April – which is actually a 20% increase on the current salary – something very hard to reconcile, particularly at a time when we’re asking the public sector workers and our staff to accept a 1% increase,” said Cllr Moran.

“I just wonder what impact these salary increases for senior management will have on staff morale.”

Chief executive Mike Suarez justified the pay rises in a report to the council saying the officers affected had taken on extra responsibility, especially since the £125,000 role of executive director for strategic commissioning had been deleted.

The council argues that, even with the pay hikes for top officers, it will save £65,000.

But Cllr Sam Corcoran (Lab) said such massive rises could not be justified, pointing out they were more than some people earned a year in total.

“Are the pay rises for increased responsibilities? Paragraph 6.1 [of Mr Suarez’ report to the council] says so and there is some truth in this argument,” said Cllr Corcoran. “But ASDVs [companies set up to run council services] and the shrinking of the council have taken responsibility away.

“I do not accept the argument that increased responsibilities justifies the pay rises being proposed. Some of the pay increases are more than many people earn in total.”

But staffing committee chairman Cllr Barry Moran (Con) argued: “This is the right thing to do, there’s no doubt about it.”